Memorable Days
by Marie Euphrosyne
Summary: [AU] [SessKagura] In the end, it is she who needs all the love.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **INUYASHA belongs to Takahashi Rumiko.

* * *

**Memorable Days**

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

_Tug. Tug._

She wouldn't stop tugging on his hair—ouch. And it was irritating Sesshoumaru to the end of his childish sanity. He attempted a glare, but he was much too cute for it to do anything.

He gnashed his teeth in frustration.

"Stop—tugging—on—my—hair—(ouch)—"

"But it's so long, Sesshy-kun!" A giggle was heard. "My 'kaa-chan always said that boys with long hair were…hmm, what was the word again? Enh…e…e…Oh yeah! _Emotionally Unstable Feminists!_"

"I AM NOT AN EMOTIONALLY UNSTABLE FEMINIST!"

"Ooh, you know how to use a grown-up long word!"

"YOU SAID IT!"

"But I didn't know what it said, so there!"

Logic was no use against this girl because she always flipped it into a scrambled-egg mess. "Look, Kagura—"

He turned to face her, and was met with large, pinkish-red eyes.

He blinked.

She blinked.

"You…you…"

Sesshoumaru watched inquiringly as she jumped up from the grass she had been sitting in and laughed.

"Sesshy-kun said my name! Sesshy-kun said my name for the first time! YAY!"

He could just die, die, die. "Kagura—stop—"

Pause. And then another cheer. "HE SAID MY NAME AGAIN!"

Little Kagura sparkling in the sunlight, laughing and dancing and smiling, all because he said her name.

Kagura, Kagura, Kagura.

He liked her name.

He liked her smile.

"Come on, Sesshy-kun! Smile!"

He smiled.

This was his first memory of her. They were five years old.

* * *

_Three years later_

"Why wont you smile anymore?"

Eight-year old Kagura asked sadly, her eyes a somber dark red, her voice soft and her face pale. Sesshoumaru glared at her coldly.

"None of your business."

"You know Sesshoumaru, you look all gloomy when you don't smile—(glare)—uh, well, at least don't glare like that!"

"What do you know?"

Kagura bit her lower lip.

His mother is dead, that's all she knew. And a stepmother had come to take her place.

"But Izayoi-san seemed very kind—"

He was still glaring. Kagura flinched.

"She's a human."

"But—"

Sesshoumaru looked away.

_Kagura, Kagura._

She taught him how to smile, friendship, and trust. She taught him the names of flowers, the warmth of the sun, the sound of the ocean waves. She taught him the freedom of the wind and how she adored it, and how to dance and play and have fun. But she hadn't taught him how to cope with death.

He saw his mother die. Death was a cruel, cruel thing.

A hand timidly linked with his.

"Sesshy…I know this might sound cliché…"

She closed her eyes as if praying.

"It's okay to cry."

He didn't want to cry. The heir of the great Inutaishou shouldn't cry! But he sniffed and cried anyway.

_Kagura, Kagura._

She'd just taught him how to cry.

* * *

Five years later, both were thirteen years old. 

"SESSHOUMARU! WAIT UP!"

He inclined his head ever so slightly. Kagura could be so childish sometimes.

"Hurry up," he said, not stopping.

"UGH, YOU—"

He sighed and turned.

Kagura was a pretty, pretty girl. Her hair sprayed in an array of black crystals, her eyes the two of the finest ruby. When she laughed or smiled he could feel a pleasant, fuzzy feeling in his heart that had nothing to do with his breakfast.

She finally caught up with him. "YOU! NOT EVEN WAITING FOR YOUR BEST FRIEND!"

"We're late."

"SO?"

"Unlike you, Kagura, I prefer a clean record."

"Yeah right, mister I-MUST-BE-SO-PERFECT—" she scowled, but a few moments later she brightened up again. "Sesshy, guess what!"

He didn't answer. Kagura kept continuing. "My baby sister! She learned how to talk, and her first word is 'nee-chan!"

"All babies talk sooner or later, Kagura, it's a part of growing up."

"That's not the point! The point is that she said _'nee-chan. _ME! She meant ME!"

"I pity her."

"HEY!"

Sesshoumaru had a younger sibling too, Kagura remembered, after giving him a great tongue-lashing and looking away. A half-brother, named Inuyasha. She knew Sesshoumaru hated that brother. He would always say that a hanyou was a disgrace, and he would like to kill him himself.

Now, that's kind of cruel, Kagura had said. After all, they were brothers. But Sesshoumaru sent her a disgusted look, and the subject had dropped.

Kagura peeked at her companion.

Sesshy-kun is very cold.

It was strange. She didn't remember him being so cold when he was a child.

He could be kind if he wanted to. His tolerance with her foolishness was enough proof of that.

_Sesshoumaru, Sesshoumaru._

They were best friends.

Without him she would feel lonely. So very lonely.

"Kagura," he called, pulling her out of her thoughts. "We're here, ten minutes until eight."

"Huh. A full ten minute leisure and you can't even wait for your best friend—"

"I thought we were past that—"

Kagura stuck out her tongue playfully and poked him in the ribs.

"Sesshy, you're IT!"

It was his turn to run.

Sighing exasperatedly, Sesshoumaru started the chase.

_Kagura, Kagura._

He would always catch her, no matter what. And she would always catch up with him.

* * *

_No…_

_No…_

_No!_

Two years later.

_Don't…_

They were fifteen years old.

_Don't leave me!_

Kagura stopped, dropping to her knees and panting, inside Tokyo Airport. The world around her was an insignificant blur of color, the many sounds a buzz. Her finely manicured nails clawed at her skin. No, no, no! How could he…how could…

Damn bastard.

_I'm leaving for America this afternoon, _the letter had said.

Bullshit!

He can't leave, was what passed continuously inside Kagura's mind. He can't leave me.

Because

Without him

I would feel

So very lonely…

_Lonely, lonely…_

_Such heartbreaking loneliness…_

She urged herself up, her eyes darting everywhere to find a glimpse of long silver hair. _Please, please, please…_She had to find him, to tell him something…

_I… _

And there, she saw it.

A glimpse of silver hair, a pair of golden eyes…Sesshoumaru. He was there.

Right in front of her.

"Kagura," he said, cold as ever.

"You…You…" She was suddenly angry. "YOU—"

_I…_

"I thought I sent you a letter."

Stupid, stupid bastard.

"Well, that wasn't enough! How could—"

Her breath got stuck in her throat.

Kagura knew, by staring directly into Sesshoumaru's golden orbs that he was going to America, and nothing she said would make the slightest difference. She felt like crying angry tears.

_Without you_

_I would feel_

_So very lonely…_

"Don't leave me," she whispered.

_I…_

"Don't worry, I'll correspond."

_I…_

"But—"

"Stop being so childish and demanding, Kagura, grow up."

"But—"

For a long time, they stood in silence, as various people walked past them, as the speaker boomed out that the passengers for the plane to New York should hurry up…

"I have to go now, Kagura."

_I…_

Tears welled up in her sunset eyes.

"We'll meet again."

_Meet again…_

Her lips moved as tear after tear rolled down her cheeks.

"Call me."

_I…_

She couldn't even bear to think of it.

_I...I'll miss you._

_I'll miss you so very much._

I'll wait for you year after year.

* * *

Sesshoumaru sat thinking, as he sat in his seat, first class. 

_Kagura, Kagura._

The fuzzy feeling in his heart never did go away.

And this is how everything began.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note:** Ahahahaha…alright, I've had this idea in my head for a long time and I just had to flick it off. So? Does it suck? Should I continue? I'm just happy I got it all written down!

Sesshoumaru might seem OOC at the start but what do you expect? He's supposed to be a cute little kid! And Kagura seems childish, but I wanted to portray the Kagura in this fic as what she could've been if her life hadn't been all angsty like in the anime/manga…carefree and happy.

Review!


	2. Happy Birthday

"_Kagura."_

She heard her name spoken in a vague whisper. In her world of pitch black she could do nothing but step forward, towards the direction of that beautiful voice, one she knew very well...but couldn't place.

Who was calling her?

"_Kagura."_

_Yes, _she wanted to answer, but no sound came out from her moving lips.

The voice grew faint.

"_Kagura…"_

_Don't leave me, _she mouthed.

_Don't leave me again._

A hand brushed away her tears.

"_Don't cry," _the voice said.

Oh!

She knew who that voice belonged to now.

She smiled.

_Isn't it funny?_

_Every since you left_

_My heart ached._

_And it hurt…_

_So very much._

"_Don't close your eyes," _he said. _"You must not close your eyes."_

She nodded.

_I think_

_That day_

_Six years ago… _

And instead of falling asleep, she awoke.

_You took my heart._

"Kagura! Kagura, are you alright? Inuyasha, go get the nurse!"

_And you never gave it back._

"Happy birthday, Kagura."

"_Happy birthday, Kagura."_

She opened her eyes.

_Sesshoumaru…_

* * *

**CHAPTER 1: Happy Birthday**

**

* * *

**

**Six years later**

_**Nagori Hospital**_

"Kanna found you on the floor, bleeding. Care to explain a bit?"

Kagura stared at her blankly.

"It wasn't suicide."

"I know that!" Kagome snapped. She had been unwrapping a teddy bear before the interrogation and now she was about to hurl it into the opposite wall. "You were coughing blood. All Kaede says is that you have an unidentified heart disease. Kanna knows something and won't say anything, she just looks sad. And," the miko took a deep breath. "Kanna has no facial expressions whatsoever!"

"Everyone knows that. So what?"

"It means that your problem is a serious problem."

"You're acting like a mother, Kagome."

Kagome gnashed her teeth. "Well, you're acting like this is all sunshine and dandelions! Who spends her twenty-first birthday in a hospital?"

Silence. Kagura reached out and gently tugged the teddy bear away from her friend's angry grasp, and hugged it tightly.

"I do."

She closed her eyes.

"I do."

Kagome bowed her head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"

"It's fine. You were just worried. Could you send my sister in?"

The girl stood, her face pained as she close the door behind her. In the short moment of quietness that followed Kagura breathed the cotton scent of the bear and looked up. Her eyes were a weak pinkish red today. She felt no desire to drink the water on the bedside cabinet.

_I'm acting like a child,_ she thought. _A stubborn, unhealthy child._

She could have died. She would have died, but his voice saved her, urging her to wake up from her dark world. His dream-self had saved her more times than his real, breathing person had.

_Sesshoumaru..._

These days his name was a constant mantra in her mind. His name reminded her of the things she needed to keep safe—her friends, her sister. His name reminded her that she had to see him one last time before she died.

She could have died. But she didn't, because he saved her.

When in reality he was across the ocean, out of her reach, not even keeping his promises. He broke her heart and ripped it apart into pieces of fragile glass, and stomped on it.

This was not the first time. Her near-death state occurred once in a while, when her mysterious illness decided to reappear. And this time, it was on her birthday. Twenty-one years she had lived, and six years had passed since their parting. A pile of presents littered the floor. Including the teddy bear, she had received stacks of books and CDs, bouquets of flowers, a diary, and a black lace scarf. And on top of this pile a huge card was propped open with the message: GET WELL SOON, WIND BITCH. FROM INUYASHA.

She felt so loved.

Kagura patted the bear on its head, smiling sadly. All she wished was to become free from her aching heart and live the rest of her life peacefully.

Or to become a child again.

* * *

Her sister walked in without knocking. She stopped behind the foot of the bed, her bottomless black orbs infinite, uncertain of what to do. 

"Sweetie, I'm okay. Give your old sister a hug." And for that moment Kanna's apathetic face changed into one of relief and joy as she jumped into Kagura's waiting arms.

"You're not old," the albino insisted. "Not old. Onee-chan is very, very pretty. I was scared of losing onee-chan."

"Don't worry. I won't go anywhere."

Kanna went on. "If onee-chan goes away, no one will love me."

_No one will love me._

_If Sesshoumaru goes away, no one will love me._

That was what Kagura had believed, once.

But someone had loved her, after he went.

They hadn't wanted her to leave.

Kagura felt a familiar tear in her chest. It wasn't her illness.

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course someone will love you. There's Kagome, and Inuyasha—well, not quite—and Sango, and Miroku, and Yura, and Kaede…everyone will love you even if I'm gone—"

"No one will love me," Kanna repeated. "I can see it in their eyes. They're afraid of me. Did I do something wrong, onee-chan? What did I do?"

_When you left me, Sesshoumaru, was it because of something I did?_

_What did I do?_

"Kanna," Kagura held her sister's face in her hands. "Listen to me. You didn't to anything wrong."

_Everything I taught you, every love I gave you, I will now give to my sister._

That had been her vow.

"Onee-chan loves you very much. So does the other people. I'm not going anywhere. We'll bake cookies and fly on my feather-boat and dance and sing and look at the stars and play games and dress up and do all those things that sisters do, and I will love you, love you, love you."

_I won't make the mistake he made._

_Leaving._

_Breaking people's hearts._

Kanna fished a book lying on the ground and held it up. "Read to me?" It was a book of fairytales from her birthday pile. Kagura noticed a sticky-note plastered on the title. It read: _Happy Birthday to the best sister in the world. Love from Kanna. _

Something happened.

Upon reading that innocent sentence the wheels began to turn, and unwillingly her mind dug out a precious memory. Her fingers turned the pages; her mouth spoke the words. Yet her eyes no longer reflected the illustration of _The Frog Prince. _

"In the olden days, in a distant land, there lived a king. Between his several daughters the youngest was by far the most fair and charming, and one day the little princess went off to a nearby forest to play with her golden ball.

_Nine year old Kagura placed the cake on the table. _

"_Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you," she sang. "Happy birthday dear Sesshoumaru, my very best friend." _

"As the princess tossed her ball into the air, it did not fall into her uplifted hands as usual. Instead, it fell to the ground, rolled to the rim of the well and into the water. The golden ball was gone.

"_Stop this nonsense." Sesshoumaru was grouchy, but Kagura knew he was pleased. She knew him better than anyone else, even his parents._

_Dramatically, using elaborate gestures and twirling around, she presented him his present. "Here you go."_

"The princess, for fear that she would never see her beautiful ball again, burst into tears. She cried and cried so pitifully that a frog poked its head out of the water and asked, 'What is the matter, little princess? You are crying so that even a hard stone would have pity on you.'

_The box opened. An eyebrow rose. "What am I supposed to do with this?" He waved the silver chain in the air._

"Though she disliked the ugly frog the princess answered, 'My golden ball has fallen into the well. Could you bring it back to me?'

'Oh, I can. But what will you give me if I do?'

"The princess said she would give him all her dresses, jewelry, and beads—even the golden crown on her head.

"_Wear it, of course!"_

"_I'm not a dog."_

"The frog answered, 'I don't want them. But if you can find it in your heart to like me and take me for your playfellow, if you will let me sit beside you at the table, eat from your plate and drink from your cup, and if you are willing to let me sleep in your own bed besides: if you promise me all this, little princess, I will gladly retrieve your golden ball.'

"She promised. But as soon as she seized the ball she skipped away with it, thinking no more about the small creature who had returned it to her."

"_But you're an _inu youkai. _Close enough."_

_Sesshoumaru sighed. "So childish," he muttered, but put on the chain anyway. _

If it makes you happy,

I will do anything.

"_YAY!" Kagura cheered. Then she grabbed both of his hands._

"_Sesshy-kun, dance with me!" _

"_I—don't—"_

"_Don't be such a party pooper! Dance!"_

_In the end, he danced, to make her happy. They waltzed into the sky and tangoed over the moon, performed a pirouette in the midst of stars. And when they landed, back on earth, Sesshoumaru was smiling too._

"Onee-chan?"

"Huh?" She had stopped reading. "Oh. I must have dozed off, sorry Kanna. I'll read it to you again…" The pages were wet.

_Drip, drip._

"You're crying!"

Kagura pressed a palm to her cheek. So she was.

_Make me your friend if I return your golden ball, _the frog had said. But the princess ran away with it. The princess who hadn't kept her word was unfair, but the frog, who had tried to win her affection with a price wasn't much better off. Yet when the king scolded her for her actions, the princess could only do by contract, and finally she got pissed and threw the frog into the wall. It was an acute near-murder.

Then the magic broke, and in the ugly frog's place was the nearby kingdom's prince. That was the story of _The Frog Prince. _Regardless of the princess's behavior he had seen so far, and regardless of whether he was the creature she had so hated, the two married and strengthened their lands and lived happily ever after. It was a story with no emotion, no moral.

Help me, and I will help you.

_Love me, and I will love you._

Kagura thought there was that relationship in the story, too. In fact, that might have been the most basic and equal theme.

She wasn't a princess. And Sesshoumaru wasn't a prince. There was no rule between them that they should hate each other, simply for the reason that—

_Love me, and I will love you._

Had he loved her?

She failed to tell him that day at the airport, those eight letters. I-L-O-V-E-Y-O-U. She hadn't said them because she believed they would meet once more, that there would be another chance.

There had been none.

For the first time, Kagura wanted to hate Sesshoumaru.

_Love me and I will love you._

I love you.

_No. Correction:_

I loved you.

* * *

**INTERLUDE**

_Youngest daughter of the king,_

_Open the door for me._

_Mind your words at the old well spring;_

_Open the door for me!_

**Disclaimer: **INUYASHA belongs to Takahashi Rumiko.

THE FROG PRINCE belongs to The Brothers Grimm.

Please note, that if anyone felt the interpretation of The Frog Prince as insulting, the author begs forgiveness. It was necessary for the plot. The author had no intentions of belittling the Brothers Grimm or their tales.

_This chapter was written while listening to the song _Breakaway, _by _Kelly Clarkson.

* * *

A typical day in the Higurashi Shrine; the sun was shining, the air was clean, and the chirping of the birds was interrupted by a loud shriek. 

"INUYASHA!"

Only today, it wasn't Kagome that was chasing the unfortunate hanyou.

"I DIDN'T DO IT!"

"COME BACK HERE YOU ASSHOLE!" The door crashed open, followed by a fire-breathing dragon formerly known as our protagonist Kagura brandishing her fan wildly, causing a few trees to be uprooted in the distance. "COME BACK HERE! I HAVE TO KILL YOU!"

"I DON'T WANNA!"

"COME BACK HERE!"

Kagome sighed, stepping over her broken property. Why she was friends with those two, she'd never know. "What did he do now?"

"He broke Kagura's Venetian glass goblet," came the reply. Sango was nudging the door with her foot. "You asked her to bring it so we all could have a look, Inuyasha grabbed it too hastily, it flew over the couch, bounced on a cushioned chair, and it would've been fine if only that cat of yours hadn't kicked it away. Kagome, can I—"

"No, Sango, you can't borrow another thousand yen from me until you pay off all your I.O.U. debts."

Kagura caught Inuyasha by the collar of his red haori. "You may choose, Inuyasha. Either give me ten thousand bucks by tomorrow morning or kiss your sword good-bye."

Dog-boy choked. "Not…Tessaiga…"

"That's what I thought. And I want it in an attaché case, in cash!"

"GAH! That's impossible, wind bitch!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

A few minutes of shouting later, Kagura released Inuyasha, who crawled up a tree so fast that the onlookers agreed he must've been a squirrel in past life.

"Coffee?"

"Sure."

Kagome, Inuyasha, and Sango. They were all years younger than Kagura, earning some questions. Why would she consider them as friends? But she had been always lonely, none her age except him—whose name she promised herself to never mention again. This was her new resolution.

She didn't want to be hurt anymore.

Kurogami no Yura, before she left for a trip to Hawaii, had advised her to forget about him. _He's forgotten you. It's time to make a change, _Yura had said. Kagura had point-blank refused.

_Without him, I would be an empty shell._

_No heart._

Kagura idly sipped her coffee. Truly, it was a nice day, if it weren't for the fact it was winter and she was enjoying it in a heavy coat. Winter was okay; at least it snowed a lot.

Spring was okay. At least flowers bloomed.

She loved autumn. It was the windiest season.

She absolutely detested summer. Japanese summer was stuffy and humid, and despite the excitement of seeing the ocean, who wants to sweat herself to death walking under the ultraviolet rays? And it was green, too green. It was a great color and all, but seeing a too much of it can get into your head (Kagura had once watched Naruto and had been amused by the vividly green appearance of Rock Lee.)

In winter nothing should be green except evergreen trees and Christmas wreaths. Thus Kagura found herself in a bad mood when she saw a moving viridian figure climbing up the shrine stairs. The man was toad-like, wearing sunglasses and suit.

"Ugh." Inuyasha, still up in the tree, winced. "Something smells horrible…like a toad. Wench, you have a customer."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

"Ouch, two screaming banshees in one day…"

"INUYASHA!"

"I'm outta here. It's time for me to pick up Kanna anyway." A gust of wind later Kagura was sitting on a humongous feather. "Ja ne, youngsters. Thanks for the coffee. I'll expect you in the morning, dog-boy."

She flew off before Inuyasha could get in a rude remark. "Keh. Stupid witch."

The toad-man entered the shrine gate. Kagome greeted him, which he answered with a nod. "I was told I could meet Miss Kagura here."

The threesome's expressions darkened slightly. "Who told you that?" Sango asked, suspicious. It wasn't like Kagura to tell anyone where she'd be. She had no one to tell to. "Who are you?"

The man coughed. "No one you should know, and my name is Jaken." He surveyed the grounds closely. "May I see Miss Kagura?"

"She isn't here."

"Am I expected to believe that?"

Sango frowned. "Are you calling us liars?"

"It's not very convincing." Jaken attempted to search the grounds, pushing Kagome away. "Get away, girl—"

Inuyasha was by her side in an instant, holding Kagome and baring his teeth. "Don't frigging touch her, ya stinking—I ought to—"

"Inuyasha! Calm down, I'm perfectly fine." He didn't calm down. The miko sighed. "What do we do when we're upset?"

"We take a deep breath and count to ten, but don't bother Kagome, he's been agitated enough already." Sango shifted in her place, ready to grab Hiraikotsu if anything happened.

Jaken attempted to look calm, but he was clearly startled by Inuyasha's action. The lamp-like eyes under the sunglasses widened, as if realizing something. He sighed, and rummaged around his inner pocket.

"I really didn't want to do this…"

"What the—"

In the toad's hands was a business card.

"I understand that I am unwanted here, but the matter is urgent." He handed Kagome the business card. "Please, contact Miss Kagura as quickly as possible. If not, I shall have to come here again." Jaken nodded at the looks on their faces that screamed 'GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HERE.'

He nodded again and POOF disappeared.

Inuyasha was staring at the card. "No way…"

Sango looked grim. "Should we…?"

"It's for the best. She's bound to find out somehow." Kagome was itching to destroy the card in a shredder. "The nerve…after all he did to her…"

The front of the card read: _Taisho Industries_

The back of the card had a fax and phone number and the name:

_Sesshoumaru. _

* * *

**Author's Note: **HELL YEAH! I'm finally done with…what, only chapter one? Oh well, can't have anything life. SCHOOL SUCKS! 

The first chapter of _Memorable Days _has ended! Kagura's illness and new resolution! Inuyasha's protectiveness of Kagome! A Sango in debt! A Kanna in denial! A Jaken out of character! And Sesshy daring to show his face back on earth! _Next time: _Kanna makes a friend.

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